Top IT skills trends expected in 2019

As we enter into the New Year, it is but natural that businesses ponder over talent acquisition strategies - one of the most crucial aspects in the people’s business - and come out with forecasts to predict the trends, numbers and requirements for the new calendar year. With ever-increasing customer demands, the skill requirements have also changed dramatically over the last couple of years.

As an industry, we are witnessing an increasing reliance on automation and new-age technologies. As businesses are evolving, we are witnessing a major shift in their talent acquisition strategies and as they usher in 2019, it is absolutely instrumental for players to look at the dynamic talent scenario before they could even get a head start in filling in the year’s most in-demand roles.

Ranging from Data-focused to Cloud to Security-related profiles, new-age requirements have paved way for advanced technologists in areas like Cloud, Python, Hadoop, Big Data, Java, Microservices, DevOps, UI/UX/HX, Design Thinking, whereas the 2018 boom for Blockchain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Data Science, Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Machine Learning-based technologies has opened up new avenues and potential to grow into something that will help automate and store/collect and analyze data in a different manner. While 2018 laid the foundation to these technologies, we expect businesses in 2019 to largely focus on specific spheres like AI, Blockchain, Data Analytics and Visualization. Looking at relevant trends and forecasts, below mentioned job profiles are definitely expected to be in demand:

Cyber security Engineers

The most important concern of any organization is information security and data privacy and a grown emphasis on organizational safety and data security is the reason we are seeing an upswing in the number of security engineer jobs that would be the first line of safety to protect an organization’s products and services. Furthermore, as connected devices and wearables are becoming staples in daily life and with cybercriminals looking to exploit them, businesses are definitely looking to figure out how we can protect these new products make sure they’re not vulnerable. This is where security for the Internet of Things (IoT) is very likely to become a specialized area of focus. Securing the cloud using technologies such as CASB are becoming more relevant and popular.

AI and Machine Learning Specialists

The surge in AI and machine learning technologies across enterprises has led to an increase in demand for their specialists as well. As businesses are looking at ways to optimize their businesses, automate their day-to-day tasks and make their days more productive, a huge demand for skilled professionals is being created. As AI and Machine Learning is rapidly being deployed across verticals, the demand for start-ups investing in specialized training and certifications too is likely to increase thus eventually helping broaden AI and Machine Learning as a skill set and usher in a new era of using advanced solutions to solve problems.

Blockchain Developers

In the recent past, the utilization of Blockchain – a technology whose potential is huge – was restricted only to Banking and FinTech organizations. However, with the overall evolution of technology in various spheres, the scope has widened to product and services enterprises too. It is an evolving skill and 2019 is expected to be a big year for Blockchain developers to showcase their capabilities in the fields of data mining, analyzing etc. According to a leading web portal, blockchain-related jobs are the second-fastest growing category of jobs, with 14 job openings for every one blockchain developer who specializes in developing and implementing architecture and solutions using blockchain technology.

Data Scientists

With the evolution of business models and the way business is actually conducted, enterprises in nearly every sphere now have the ability to collect & process data and are keenly looking forward to on boarding employees who can effectively organize and analyze this information. Research further shows that organizations are continuing to increase their own proprietary data and are also looking at ways to incorporate third-party data to understand problems impacting their business. This brings rise to the need for building Data Science competencies internally. These trends thus reveal that Data Scientists are expected to remain in high demand through 2019. In fact, a report from a leading job search social media giant titled “The Most Promising Jobs” mentions that the opportunities for Data Scientist roles have a Year-over-Year growth rate of over 40 percent!

Full Stack developers

Tech companies today are keen on on boarding talent proficient in all levels of the application stack covering the front-end and back-end technologies. As a matter of fact, Full Stack developers have the skill sets to transform a prototype into a fully-functioning product or service and are therefore in huge demand. There are numerous organizations today that are investing heavily either in the training of professionals on Full Stack or hiring already trained and expert talent. Be it the biggies like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Accenture, Infosys, and Wipro to name a few or even start-ups, Full Stack developers are occupying top slots in numerous processes and in 2019, this trend will continue to grow and we would see an even larger demand for these professionals.

Java, JavaScript and Python Developers

Carrying on the trend from 2018, various reports and forecasts predict that the demand for Java, JavaScript, Angular and React/Redux Frame works and Python Developers will remain top-notch in 2019 too. Even with the growth of programming languages, Java and JavaScript are the languages of choice for most tech players that are focused on delivering user-friendly and state-of-the-art interfaces. On the other hand, the rise of new-age technology including AI and Machine Learning has led to an increased demand for Python – a language that has a great community is relatively easy to learn.

In Conclusion

While concepts like Reskilling and Upskilling are now being discussed at a strategy level by the C-Suite to ensure the demand for certain “hot” skills are met in-house, initiatives like employer branding, strategy hiring, social media recruiting, data-driven tools and above all candidate experience will drive future hiring. While professionals with the above mentioned top-rated skills are definitely being grabbed by organizations, skill sets like Cloud, Big Data, Scala and R too have tremendous potential and are unquestionably making their presence felt in today’s evolving technology scenario. Over all, we definitely are looking towards an exciting year ahead. My advice to young techies is, as Umber Ahmad said “Find the ability to give all you have and then forgive yourself for the place you couldn’t reach”

Express Computer is one of India's most respected IT media brands and has been in publication for 24 years running. We cover enterprise technology in all its flavours, including processors, storage, networking, wireless, business applications, cloud computing, analytics, green initiatives and anything that can help companies make the most of their ICT investments. Additionally, we also report on the fast emerging realm of eGovernance in India.

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Express Computer is one of India's most respected IT media brands and has been in publication for 24 years running. We cover enterprise technology in all its flavours, including processors, storage, networking, wireless, business applications, cloud computing, analytics, green initiatives and anything that can help companies make the most of their ICT investments. Additionally, we also report on the fast emerging realm of eGovernance in India.